Screw-door safe



C. E. BLECHSCHMIDT.

SCREW DOOR SAFE.

(Application filed Jan. 9 1899.)

No. 622,753. Patented Apr. ll, I899.

(no Model.)

lll'a'llll llmmll THE Nanms Farms no, warauwu WASHINGTON 11c UNITED STATES PATENT Erica.

CHARLES E. BLECIISCHMIDT, OF BELLEVUE, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR TO THE VICTOR SAFE AND LOOK COMPANY, OF OINCINNATI, OHIO.

SCREW-DOOR SAFE.-

SPE0I]5I0A'J.ION forming part of Letters Patent No. 622,753, dated April 11, 1899.

Application filed January 9, 1999.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. BLEOH- SCHMIDT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bellevue, in the county of Campbell and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Screw-Door Safes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, reference being had to the annexed drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to those safes which areprovided with screw-doors, and the first part of my improvements includes a novel combination of devices for diminishing the friction incidental to turning such doors in the act of opening and closing them. The principal member of this combination is a fixed annulus carried by a customary cranehinge and provided with three or more double-ended rollers, which serve as antifrictionbearings for the pivot or journal of the door. Furthermore, these double-ended rollers are fitted in boxes housed within said annulus, and by means of set-screws and jam-nuts said boxes can be so adjusted as to compensate for any wear and tear of the operative parts of the door, as hereinafter more fully described. Again, these rotary doors have toothed rings attached to them, which rings gear with pinions adapted to be turned by keys or wrenches, and the secondvpartof my improvements consists in so arranging such pinions as to render them readily inoperative when occasion requires. To do this, the pinion is normally held in gear with the toothed ring by means of a spring; but by simply inserting a key in a special lock applied to a cap of the door and then turning said key so as to advance a bolt of said lock the pinion can be so shifted as to disengage itself from saidring. Consequentlyitwillbeimpossible to turn the toothed ring until said bolt is again retracted and the pinion automatically reengaged with said ring,as hereinafter more fully described.

In the annexed drawings,Figure 1 is a front elevation of a safe embodying my improvements, its screw-door being closed. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section through a cylin drical cap applied to the door, the pinion be- Serial No. 701,621. (No model.)

ing in gear with the toothed ring and the door detached from the safe. Fig. 3 is a similar section, but omitting said ring. Fig. 4 is a plan showing the fixed annulus detached from the safe-door. Fig. 5 is a sectionized elevation showing the method of rendering the pinion inoperative. Fig. 6 is a greatly-enlarged horizontal section of the door, taken at the line Z Zof Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a section through a box and double-ended roller. Fig. 8 is a side elevation of said roller.

A represents the front of a safe of any desired size, shape, and construction, and a is a circular opening in said front to admit a disk-shaped door 13, the coupling together of these parts A B being effected by customary screw-thread connections. Projecting horizontally from the front of this door and preferably integral therewith is a heavy journal 0, (more clearly shown in Fig. 6,) a short neck 0 being formed on the end of said jour- I nal. Fitting snugly around this neck and rigidly attached to the journal 0 by means of screws d is the toothed ring D, previously alluded to, this rigid connection being necessary in order that any turning of said ring will impart a corresponding rotation to said journal and the door from which itprojects. Ring D can be turned solely by a pinion E, adapted to slide along a shaft F (seen in Figs. 5 and 6) and held in its forward or effective position by a coiled spring G. This pinion has a feather e, traversinga longitudinal groove fof the shaft, in order that these devices E F may turn together.

f is a square arbor at the outer end of shaft F for the ready application of a key or wrench when it is desired to operate the door-' turning appliances.

The coiled spring G occupies a circular pit g at one side of the fixed annulus H, the inner periphery of which is mortised at h to admit boxes I, carrying double-ended rollers J, I that bear against the journal 0, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6. Each box has an adjustingscrew K tapped in the annulus II, and each screw has a j am-nut is, engaged with its outer end. Again, these nuts occupy circular holes Z in the annular rim L of a cylindrical cap M, that incloses all the door-turning appliances, said rim being further pierced at Z to admit pivots N N of a customary crane-hinge O, Wherewith the door is hung from the front of the safe in the usual manner. Furthermore, the points of these screw-pivots N N enter pits h in the outer edge of the annulus H, so as to prevent the latter turning either to the right or left. Pivoted to the front of this annulus is a lever P, having at one end an eye 19, that admits the shaft F, as more clearly shown in Fig. 5. The opposite end of this lever is adapted to be raised by the beveled end of a bolt R of a special lock r, the keyholetube r of which projects through the cap M. In the normal position of my door mechanism the bolt R of special lock 1" is retracted, and there being nothing now to resist the action of spring G it expands, and in so doing advances the pinion Ealong the shaft F and retains said pinion in gear with the toothed ring D, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6. Therefore by applying a key, wrench, or other lever to the exposed end f of said shaft and turning the latter either to the right or left the pinion E will be carried around with said shaft, thereby transmitting the desired rotation to ring D and all the devices that turn therewith; but whenever it is desired to temporarily fasten the'door without operating its combination or time lock the door is simply screwed sh ut,and then a key is inserted within the tube 1" and the bolt R of lock 0" is shot, as shown in Fig. 5. Thisadvance of said bolt causes its beveled end to wedge in under the lever P and so tilt it as to force the pinion E back within the pit g, and thus disengage said pinion from the ring D. It is evident the pinion can now be turned repeatedly in either direction without moving said ring or its attachments; or, in other words, the door is securely fastened without employing a locking device of any kind.

When it is desired to open the safe, the proprietor or custodian thereof inserts his key within the tube 1", retracts the bolt R, and thus permits the spring G to exert its force and advance the pinion E into engagement with the ring D, which is the normal position of said pinion.

If the door should sag down at any time and have a, tendency to bind in the crane-hinge bearings, the jam-nuts k are first slackened and then the screws K are either screwed in or out to produce the proper contact of rollers J with the journal 0, after which act said nuts are again tightened, all of which adjustments can be effected without removing a single piece from the door and with the simple use of a screw-driver.

In making the roller J double-ended, as illustrated in Fig. 8, and fitting the box I around the spindle of said roller, as shown in Fig. 7, and causing the set-screw K to bear against the center of said box some little play is afforded for said roller. Therefore if its ends should not be exactly of the same diameter, or if the roller should not be fitted squarely within the annulus H, still the roller will readily adjust itself to the journal 0 and bear evenly against its exterior, as shown in Fig. 6.

I claim as my invention- 1. A safe provided with a screw-door; a circular toothed rim secured thereto; a pinion normally in gear with said toothed rim, and capable of being shifted toward or away from said door; and a device for forcing said pinion back and rendering it temporarily inoperative, for the purpose stated.

2. The combination, in a screw-door safe, of a toothed ring secured to the door; a shiftable pinion normally in gear with said ring, a spring that advances said pinion; a lever that forces it back, and a lock having a bolt that operates said lever in the manner de* scribed, and for-the purpose stated.

3. The combination, in a screw-door safe, of a toothed ring secured to the door; a shiftable pinion normally in gear with said ring; a spring that advances said pinion; a lever that forces it back, and a lock having a bolt that operates said lever in the manner described, said pinion, spring, lever and lock being applied to a fixed annulus housed within a stationary cap of the door, for the purpose set forth.

4. In a screw-door safe, a toothed ring D, secured to the door, a shiftable pinion E, normally in gear with said ring, and provided with a feather c; a shaft F that carries said pinion and has a longitudinal groove f, traversed by said feather; a coiled spring G, for advancing said pinion, and means for disengaging it from said ring D, for the purpose stated.

5. In a screw-door safe, the fixed annulus H, mortised at h; the boxes I fitted within said mortises and. having journaled in them the doubleended rollers J; the adjustingscrews K, tapped in said annulus and bearing against said boxes; j am-nuts k, engaged with said screws, and a stationary cap L M, inclosing said devices and having holes Z in its sides for the reception of said j am-nuts, all as herein described.

In testimony whereof I afix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES E. BLEOHSOHMIDT.

' Witnesses:

J AMES H. LAYMAN, A. T. HART. 

